Defaulted loans in new 9 banks surge by 86pc

The amount of defaulted loans in nine newly established banks increased by 86.18 per cent to Tk 509.10 crore in the first three months (January-March) of this year.Bangladesh Bank officials said the upsurge in the non-performing loans in the banks was the fallout of a number of loan-related scams and corruptions in some of the banks.The nine new banks are: Meghna Bank, Midland Bank, Modhumoti Bank, NRB Bank, NRB Commercial Bank, NRB Global Bank, South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank, The Farmers Bank and Union Bank.The BB provided licences to the nine banks in 2012 considering the political background of the owners of the banks despite severe criticisms from different corners, an official of the central bank told New Age on Thursday last.Most of the directors and chairmen of the nine new banks are directly involved with either the politics of the ruling Awami League or those of its allies.The BB inspection teams have already unearthed various types of corruptions in disbursing loans in some of the new banks.The BB data showed as of March 31, 2017, the amount of classified loans in Meghna Bank increased to Tk 45.53 crore from Tk 20.77 crore as of December 31, 2016, that in Midland Bank to Tk 15.36 crore from Tk 14.35 crore and that in Modhumoti Bank to Tk 10.45 crore from Tk 4.51 crore.The amount of non-performing loans in NRB Bank rose to Tk 34.98 crore as of March 31, 2017 from Tk 24.11 crore as of December 31, 2016, that in NRB Commercial Bank to Tk 73.41 crore from Tk 19.30 crore, that in NRB Global Bank to Tk 49.75 crore from Tk 14.63 crore and that in South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank to Tk 3.31 crore from zero NPL, the data showed.The data showed the amount of classified loans in The Farmers Bank increased to Tk 270.45 crore as of March 31, 2017 from Tk 171 crore as of December 31, 2016 and that in Union Bank to Tk 5.86 crore from Tk 4.77 crore.The BB has recently detected huge anomalies in disbursing loans by The Farmers Bank and NRB Commercial Bank.The central bank appointed observers to the two newly established banks to check any further corruption in the banks, the BB official said.The BB official feared that the defaulted loans in the nine new banks might increase further in the coming days if the banks did not comply with the central bank’s rules while disbursing loans.He said the central bank should give more attention to the new banks to compel them follow the rules and regulations.According to the BB data, the amount of total defaulted loans in the banking sector increased by Tk 11,236.68 crore to Tk 73,409 crore as of March 31, 2017 from Tk 62,172.32 crore as of December 31, 2016.